Huntress

By Lilli Carlisle

LOVE & MAGIC...

There’s a war coming in the shifter world, a tear in the veil that separates good and evil, and the reincarnation of ancient goddesses heralds the preparations for the battles ahead. Rose, a wolf shifter, whose birth pack nearly killed her, has found contentment as a member of a loving pack, and that has been enough. When she meets the Alpha and Beta of a neighboring bear clan and learns these men are her fated mates, her life changes in ways she never could have dreamed.

CAN SAVE THE WORLD

Brothers Mason and Riker Porda became the Alpha and Beta of their clan when their parents were slaughtered, and their lives have been a struggle ever since. While bolstering the health and safety of their clan is their life’s work, their hearts are sad and empty...until Rose. Their mate is everything they thought they’d never have, and when the threat of collector demons returning to earth invades the shifter world, the brothers learn Rose is so much more than their mate, she’s the reincarnation of the Goddess Thorne, the Huntress.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group
• Release date: Oct 4, 2018
• ISBN: 9781948029407

Book preview

LOVE & MAGIC...

There’s a war coming in the shifter world, a tear in the veil that separates good and evil, and the reincarnation of ancient goddesses heralds the preparations for the battles ahead. Rose, a wolf shifter, whose birth pack nearly killed her, has found contentment as a member of a loving pack, and that has been enough. When she meets the Alpha and Beta of a neighboring bear clan and learns these men are her fated mates, her life changes in ways she never could have dreamed.

CAN SAVE THE WORLD

Brothers Mason and Riker Porda became the Alpha and Beta of their clan when their parents were slaughtered, and their lives have been a struggle ever since. While bolstering the health and safety of their clan is their life’s work, their hearts are sad and empty...until Rose. Their mate is everything they thought they’d never have, and when the threat of collector demons returning to earth invades the shifter world, the brothers learn Rose is so much more than their mate, she’s the reincarnation of the Goddess Thorne, the Huntress.

ALSO BY LILLI CARLISLE

FATED MATES

Tigress

THE BLACK RIDGE WOLF PACK

Omega’s Choice

Ceva’s Chance

Karli’s Resolve

Laura’s Legacy

HUNTRESS

Fated Mates – Book Two

Lilli Carlisle

www.BOROUGHSPUBLISHINGGROUP.com

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Boroughs Publishing Group does not have any control over and does not assume responsibility for author or third-party websites, blogs or critiques or their content.

HUNTRESS

Copyright © 2018 LILLI CARLISLE

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. Unless specifically noted, no part of this publication may be reproduced, scanned, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Boroughs Publishing Group. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or by any other means without the permission of Boroughs Publishing Group is illegal and punishable by law. Participation in the piracy of copyrighted materials violates the author’s rights.

ISBN 978-1-948029-40-7

E-book formatting by Maureen Cutajar

www.gopublished.com

This has only been possible with the love and support of my family.

Love you Craig, Samantha, Katie and Jason.

CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

About the Author

HUNTRESS

Chapter One

Now, how the hell am I going to get myself out of this? Rose silently grumbled as she listened to two bears trying to bring down the walls with their snoring. Mason and Riker, the alpha and beta of the neighboring bear clan, were fast asleep on air mattresses that had been dragged into her recovery room. She was surprised the mattresses hadn’t exploded by now.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been unconscious, but it was dark outside and the pack house was silent. She felt every one of the stitches that crisscrossed her body. Those damn hyenas had made her pay for protecting her alpha matriarch, Raz, and Rose knew it was going to take some serious time for her to heal. Funny, she’d come to the North Woods Pack covered in injuries, and now that she’d met her mates, she’d be leaving in the same condition.

Rose tried to move her left leg but was barely able to contain the scream of pain from bursting through her lips. Right, no moving. She was running out of options, and Rose really needed to use the bathroom. Her molars were floating. She’d have to bite the bullet.

Um… Rose mumbled, not knowing what to say.

She’d never seen two men that large move so fast. It stunned her how quickly they were at her bedside. They looked panicked and their eyes turned darker than their usual amber. Wolf shifters’ eyes turned to amber when their wolves were near the surface, while bear shifters’ eyes turned dark brown.

Mason scanned the room and Riker checked her over before pulling her blanket up to her chin. We’re glad you’re awake. We’ve been so worried, he said in a rush as he leaned over the bed blocking the light with his big body.

Male bear shifters tended to be large even in their human form. They were over seven feet tall and weighed around two hundred and seventy-five pounds. From what she could see, it was all muscle. She was enjoying the view, but her bladder was making its demand clear. She had to suck it up, no matter how embarrassing this was.

I need to go to the bathroom, Rose mumbled. I can’t seem to move.

Mason and Riker looked at each other, and as she watched their silent communication, she marveled at the brothers’ resemblance. Both had sandy blond hair—though Riker’s reached his shoulders while Mason’s was cut short—wide-set eyes that were rich amber when in their human forms, strong jaws and delicious full lips. Both men had a patch of golden chest hair peeking out from their shirt collars, and both were sculpted like Greek statues. Sure, she’d seen Mason naked when he shifted, but she had been bleeding to death at the time and had been a bit distracted.

I’ll carry you to the bathroom, but it’s still going to hurt. Maybe we can get Doc in here to give you something to ease the pain, Mason offered.

She could see the worry in his eyes but she’d waited too long already and couldn’t take the pressure any longer. No time. Gotta go…now, Rose begged as she began pushing herself up. The pain was instantaneous and caused her head to spin, but she wasn’t going to pee the bed.

Mason moved quickly, reached down and slid his big arms underneath her back and knees. Easy there, hon. I’ve got you.

She couldn’t help her cry of pain, but being surrounded by her these bears and their heavenly scent of forest after a rain helped soothe her. Mason’s scent held something a little different, a spice of some sort she couldn’t place. It didn’t matter what it was, all that was important right now was it helped her pain subside.

Once she had her breathing under control, Mason continued to move toward the bathroom while Riker slipped out the clinic door. Thankfully, she was wearing one of those hospital robe with the opening in the back. It saved her from having him pull down her pants. He set her down to relieve herself then waited outside the open door with his back to her. After she’d done her business, Mason held her so she could wash her hands. Big hands, which could turn into massive paws with four-inch razor sharp claws, carefully avoided her injuries with a bunny-soft touch.

He asked, Do you need to do anything else in here?

She ran her tongue over her teeth and thought, yuck, slime. then grabbed a plastic-wrapped toothbrush, took it out of its packaging, then squirted toothpaste on it and got busy.

That it? He grinned as she finished rinsing.

Well, since he was holding her up, and she could maneuver the upper part of her body without too much pain, she took out a hair brush from its wrapping and began to tackle her mop. When she tried to reach the back of her head, the pull made her wince. He slid the brush from her hand and started to smooth the tangles she couldn’t reach, all while continuing to support her with the strength of his lower body.

As he placed the brush back on the counter, he rumbled, Done?

Feel like polishing my nails? she teased.

Mani-pedi?

She laughed, then grabbed her side.

Yeah, we’re done.

He swooped her into his strong arms and carried her to the bed, and had her tucked in as if she’d never left. He brought a glass of water to her lips, and she wanted to tell him she could do that for herself, but he seemed to need to do it for her. She noticed how quiet Mason had been. If she had to guess, worry was making him watchful and subdued.

The door opened and Riker peeked his head inside before pushing it all the way in for a woman to enter. She had a variation of Rose’s mates’ scents, which was weird, but she discovered why when Riker said, This is our sister and our clan’s doctor, Jewel.

Are you the one I have to thank for all these stitches? Rose arched a brow.

Jewel looked uncertain but answered, Yes, Alpha Matriarch. Words Rose never thought would be directed at her; at least she had hoped never to hear them. Though she was an alpha wolf shifter, she never wanted to lead anyone.

Rose made a point of talking softly when she said, Thank you for putting me back together and saving my life. I owe you a great debt.

You owe me nothing. We are family and you are the alpha matriarch of our clan. It was an honor to help you. Jewel came around to the side of the table and began inspecting Rose’s wounds. I have some medication that will help with the pain until your natural healing ability kicks in.

How long do you think it will take before I’m healed enough to get around on my own? I hate being an invalid, and it’s particularly embarrassing having to be carried to the toilet.

I’m sorry, Matriarch, but it will be at least ten to fourteen days before we can take the stitches out over your joints. The remainder can come out sooner. I can’t imagine you being able to move comfortably until the worst of the stitches can be removed.

Jewel handed Rose her medication and Mason helped her sit up to take it. She wasn’t too proud to admit she needed it, but at least it would be for a short time. She looked around the recovery room, and between the machines and all the medical equipment; it was cold and sterile. She wasn’t going to heal staying in here.

Can I return to my room to heal?

Yes, of course, Matriarch, Jewel answered quickly.

Before she could even ask, Riker was collecting her into his arms much the same as Mason had. You direct us, and we’ll take you there.

Clearly, she wasn’t going to get any alone time for the foreseeable future. It wasn’t as if she didn’t feel the pull of Mason and Riker. Rose wouldn’t lie to herself—if she hadn’t been injured she might be all over them right now, but the injuries provided more time to get used to the idea of having two mates and becoming a matriarch of her own pack, or clan in this case. Would they accept a wolf as a bear matriarch? She was getting too far ahead of herself.

Rose, are you with us? Riker asked.

How long had she been lost in thought? I’m fine. I need to rest, that’s all.

And, I imagine, time to get used to having two big bears hovering over you, Riker said with a warm smile. Rose was beginning to see how the two brothers differed. Mason seemed to be more stoic, while Riker was more open and blunt.

Rose couldn’t help but smile back. Yes, there is that.

We’ll get you comfortable in your room before hunting you down something to eat. You missed supper, Mason stated as if he didn’t expect anyone to argue with him. Boy was he in for a shock when they mated.

Hunt down?

For the first time she had woken, Mason smiled and winked at her. In the kitchen, not the forest. That’s for another day.

Jewel stood staring at her brother. Rose wondered what was wrong, but as they headed out into the common area of the pack house she had to focus on Riker’s movements, and leaned into him hoping not to exacerbate the pain. She gave her mates directions to her private room on the far side of the lodge before laying her head on Riker’s chest. Mason reached around and took her hand. Being in contact with both of them calmed her. Probably a mate thing.

Jewel opened the door to Rose’s room and turned on the lights. She had only seconds to warn them about Freckles before the big ball of orange and white fur jumped into Mason’s arms. Mason’s warning growl trailed off once he realized what he was holding and looked at Rose in curiosity.

You have a cat?

Yes, her name is Freckles. Rose crossed her sore arms over her chest, daring him to say You’re a wolf with a pet cat.

Instead he said the unexpected. "We’ll have to put a tracker on her collar so